and we're bound to linger on

Before I start dumping, a few things:

Please reblog this post. I usually don’t post a lot, therefore I don’t have a big following. I’d really appreciate people sharing these as much as they can. When I was a dumb kid in ye olden days of the internet, finding a post like this was the sort of thing I would have been hyped up on for weeks. Help spread that kind of joy!

Feel free to use these photos for any sorts of graphics, artistic reference or any other fandom related projects, as long as it’s not for profit. Please just credit me in some way. In fact, I'd love to be tagged to see whatever creations come from sharing all this!

With these pictures, I really tried to focus on capturing close up details of things that aren’t often seen in common photos. That said, this post is going to be all exterior shots. I will share interior shots in subsequent posts. As I make them, I'll link them together. Enjoy!

PART 1 (here) | PART 2 (staircase) | PART 3 (foyer) | PART 4 (stage)

These are the doors under the arches on the face of the building. In the past, these would have been the entrances for the “common folk” that attended the opera.

This sculpture was my favorite one on the exterior just for the details of the reflection in the hand mirror.

This is the view of the street when you stand directly on the steps in front of the Opera. To the right, there is a really interesting cafe. Opening in 1862, Cafe de la Paix is definitely somewhere Raoul and Christine could have shared a romantic meal!

Historically, I believe this would have been one of the entrances for wealthy patrons of the Opera, like our favorite Vicomte. Now, its a restaurant, CoCo. We didn't get a chance to eat there, as it seemed to be a black-tie sort of place. The surrounding area of the Opera was all very upscale, lots of luxury storefronts and other fancy restaurants.

The ceiling on the 2nd level balcony.

The modern entrance to the box office is right behind this awesome tribute to the man himself, Charles Garnier.

I was a wretched, horrible man. I could not fathom why this creature found it in herself to trust me. I could not resist the temptation. I peered through the sliver of the opened door and saw her within.

She stood with her back towards me, carefully brushing through her thick, white hair. I was mesmerized by the simple action, a far too intimate thing for me to witness her doing. As she smoothed her own fingers through her hair, I could not help but imagine my own hands repeating the gesture. Oh, to feel that silky texture in reality instead of my twisted imaginings would be too great a pleasure. 

A moment later, she was crossing the room to put her hairbrush back in its place.  As she turned, I saw her. A peaceful expression on her death’s head. Gentle. Breathtaking. A sight far different than the last time I had seen her bare face, a scene full of fear and pain etched into her pallid skin. 

An overwhelming surge of feeling filled my chest at the sight of her. I could hardly place what it meant. If it was disgust, it was directed at my own horrid behavior and not anything to do with her appearance. Fascination?  No, it was something far deeper, far more intense than that. Yearning. I suppose that was the best approximation I could concoct.

She spotted the crack in the door and for a moment, her eyes locked with mine. They widened and she gasped in horror. A hand flew up to cover her face as she turned her back again.

“Erik!” She shrieked my name, “Why didn’t you—Why are you–” She stammered. I was forced to confront my own indecency.

“There was…” I had entirely forgotten the entire reason I had come here in the first place, beyond simply wishing to be near her. “I had news to share, that’s all.”

“Give me a moment!”

I could hear her scrambling around the room. I assumed she was looking for her mask, that horrible scrap of silk. As expected, when she opened the door, the mask was covering her face. The feeling in my chest seized and turned to an unfathomable ache.

“Christine,” her name was barely a whisper on my lips.

“You had something to tell me?” She replied, I could still see the remnants of panic in her eyes. Did she think I feared her appearance? That I judged her for it, despite having seen her bare face before I had even learned her name? She did not trust me as much as I hoped. My stomach dropped. Each breath felt like fire as I exhaled. 

“It can, It can wait until the morning. I apologize for disturbing you,” I said, anxiously twisting at my cufflinks. Even if I had wanted to have an average conversation with her, there’d be no chance for that now.

“Oh,” her eyes fell. There was no mistaking the look of disappointment in those soulful, mismatched eyes. Maddening! “I’ll…see you tomorrow, then.”

She wanted me here. I needed to leave before I said or did something that I would regret. I stood there, helpless in her gaze. My hand reached towards her. She held her breath. I wanted to caress her snowy hair, trail my fingers along her delicate cheek and pull her closer. I hovered there in my indecision before allowing my hand to fall back to my side.

“Good night, Christine.”

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Before I start dumping, a few things:

Please reblog this post. I usually don’t post a lot, therefore I don’t have a big following. I’d really appreciate people sharing these as much as they can. When I was a dumb kid in ye olden days of the internet, finding a post like this was the sort of thing I would have been hyped up on for weeks. Help spread that kind of joy!

Feel free to use these photos for any sorts of graphics, artistic reference or any other fandom related projects, as long as it’s not for profit. Please just credit me in some way. In fact, I'd love to be tagged to see whatever creations come from sharing all this!

This is Part 4, which will be pictures of the stage, things that were on display and a few extra pics from my Paris trip.

Part 1 (Exterior) | Part 2 (Staircase) | Part 3 (Foyer) | Part 4 (HERE)

Honestly, we were shocked we were even allowed to see the stage at all! The day we took our tour, it was closed for rehearsals. When we came back the next just to have more time to wander around, it was closed again. Right as we were about to leave though, rehearsals finished and we got to see it! This was the view from box 25.

There were lots of costumes from past productions on display throughout the halls. These were a few of my favorites.

The very impressive Opera Library!

There were a few halls that have been turned into museum spaces. This painting was part of the series of concept art that was eventually turned into the ceiling paintings in the grand foyer.

The outside balcony area, the grand foyer is right inside.

Extra Stuff!

The interior of La Madeleine. We couldn't get any good pictures of the exterior, as it is currently going through extensive renovations. This church was about a 15 minute walk from the Opera. In the Kay adaptation, I remember Erik making a sarcastic comment about marrying Christine here.

A few shots from the Paris catacombs. If there was interest, I could also make a photo dump of this place. It was pretty extraordinary. It was very easy to imagine our favorite sewer goblin hanging out down here.

Notre Dame! She is doing well after the devastating fire in 2019. Not open to the public yet, but it was very neat getting to see construction work happening while we were there! Under the scaffolding, we could see parts of the roof starting to take shape once more. Hopefully, it will be finished in time for the 2024 Olympics.

While in Europe, I also stopped to see Phantom in London! This wasn't originally part of our plans but knowing I wouldn't likely be able to make it to New York to see it on Broadway before it closed, I made a priority to see it here!

This concludes my epic photo dump. If anyone has questions about anything, please ask! I will try to answer to the best of my ability. I absolutely can't wait to see how the community uses these!

Before I start dumping, a few things:

Please reblog this post. I usually don’t post a lot, therefore I don’t have a big following. I’d really appreciate people sharing these as much as they can. When I was a dumb kid in ye olden days of the internet, finding a post like this was the sort of thing I would have been hyped up on for weeks. Help spread that kind of joy!

Feel free to use these photos for any sorts of graphics, artistic reference or any other fandom related projects, as long as it’s not for profit. Please just credit me in some way. In fact, I'd love to be tagged to see whatever creations come from sharing all this!

This is part three, which is a continuation of pictures from the interior. I will continue to share information from the tour I took in this post as well. In fact, these are some of my personal favorites, as I never knew about some of these rooms as just some silly American girl on the internet. I hope you guys enjoy these even more than the last!

Part 1 (Exterior) | Part 2 (staircase) | Part 3 (HERE) | Part 4 (stage)

This is the grand foyer, an area that is pretty heavily photographed already. Standing in this room is almost as impressive as the massive staircase. The paintings on the walls and ceilings depict a lot of mythological scenes. In one of them, there is a hidden portrait of Garnier, along with the other artists that were involved in creating the paintings. The doors leading to the 2nd level balcony are located in the grand foyer.

Historically, only the gentlemen were allowed in the grand foyer, as it was seen as a place for them to converse and do business until one night, the Queen of Spain decided that she didn't care about such arbitrary rules. Ignoring it completely, she entered the room. The men all decided to leave, offended that even a queen would dare to encroach on their space. As word traveled around the Opera that night, all the other women soon joined the Queen in the foyer, wanting to see for themselves that she was there. Afterwards, men and women were begrudgingly allowed to mingle.

I found this to be a very interesting room. At the end of the grand foyer, this room was full of sunlight and comparatively simple decorations. The wealthy patrons themselves served as the real decorations of this room, as they would gather here for refreshments! The common folk, while not permitted to enter, would come to simply watch the rich people indulge in lots of expensive treats.

In fact, the menu still hangs on the wall in the form of all the portraits! All the women are holding items that symbolize various food items, tea, coffee, wine, game meat, fish, ice cream, citrus fruits and pastries.

I couldn't help but imagine Raoul taking various treats and sneaking them out to share with Christine.

We weren't allowed to go down this hallway but it just continued to make this place feel like a giant maze.

These two rooms were nearly identical, though on opposite ends of a hallway. A few mistakes were made during their construction. The top room is known as the Sun room, for its warmer ambiance. The bottom is the Moon room.

Firstly, the rooms were meant to be swapped locations. The Sun Room was supposed to lead into the gentlemen's smoking room, but the Moon room leads to it instead. On the ceiling of the Sun room, salamanders are painted. The little amphibians were believed to ward off the danger of fire and protect the building. By the time the mistake was caught, it was too late to change it.

The other mistake can be seen in the mirror illusion in the Sun room. Because of a fault in the construction of the mirrors, the glass is too curved and the error is magnified with the illusion. The light appears to bend around a corner, instead of repeating on into infinity.

I imagine Erik was quite cross with the workers when he realized these errors occurred. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be on the receiving end of his temper that day!

Looking at the star motifs painted on both ceilings, I wonder if they could have inspired Christine's Star Princess costume in the musical.

Before I start dumping, a few things:

Please reblog this post. I usually don’t post a lot, therefore I don’t have a big following. I’d really appreciate people sharing these as much as they can. When I was a dumb kid in ye olden days of the internet, finding a post like this was the sort of thing I would have been hyped up on for weeks. Help spread that kind of joy!

Feel free to use these photos for any sorts of graphics, artistic reference or any other fandom related projects, as long as it’s not for profit. Please just credit me in some way. In fact, I'd love to be tagged to see whatever creations come from sharing all this!

This is part two, which will be photos of the interior. While there, I also took a tour, Mysteries of the Palais Garnier. I'll share a lot of the things I learned throughout the post and try to provide as much context as I can.

PART 1 (exterior) | PART 2 (here!) | PART 3 (foyer) | PART 4 (stage)

Upon leaving the designated tour office area, we entered this large, circular room where our tour began. Giant mirrors lined the walls and one of my companions immediately remarked that she felt as though someone was watching her from behind them.

On the ceiling there was this intricate pattern. We learned that this was Charles Garnier's "signature". He was concerned that at some point in time, his name would be forgotten and he would no longer be remembered as the architect of the Opera. If you look closely, his name is intertwined in the design, as well as the years of the building's construction.

There are salamanders hidden throughout the building as they were said to ward off devastating fires. It was very common for theaters to burn down, then. In fact, the construction of the Garnier was somewhat rushed in the last few years because the company's previous theater, Salle le Peletier burned to the ground in 1873. The Garnier opened in 1875.

We learned in our tour that these cracks on the steps were the result of a great tragedy. A group of ballerinas had been exploring the roof when the glass on the large window above cracked. One ballerina fell through the window and met her demise on the steps below.

With all these pictures of doors to the private boxes, you're probably wondering, "Hey Lotus, what about the most important one?" I got you, boo.